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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. foot — a measure
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. scale — size or range
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. chair — a leader
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. roll — a cake
  13. hand — help
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — an illness
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — in cards
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. scale — in music
  24. roll — a list

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com